Superfluid Labs, a Kenyan data analytics startup has been named winner of the ENGIE Challenge at Africa Tech Summit Kigali, earning the chance to secure a testing phase with the French utility company.
Superfluid Labs enables businesses to identify and unlock hidden revenue opportunities and expand their services and impact to reach several millions more customers through the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI). The firm mines customer transactional data to automatically predict future business events, reveal customer behaviours and trends (e.g. credit risk and defaults), enhance engagement, reduce churn risk, and increase overall profitability. Superfluid Labs has offices in Frankfurt, Accra and Nairobi.
ENGIE, the French multinational energy utility firm was Gold Sponsor of Africa Startup Summit Kigali, a partnership between ENGIE and Africa Tech Summit Kigali. The challenge offered credit scoring startups with the potential to provide innovative solutions to both existing and future ENGIE customers.
ENGIE was looking for credit scoring solutions to provide proper, accurate, efficient and relevant business intelligence to improve and optimise the prospection and acquisition of future customers, financing schemes for its existing and future customers, and scenarios to valorise customer data that aim to design customer profiles and match offers to customer needs.
Five startups were selected to pitch in front of a jury panel and live audience at the event, with Superfluid Labs named overall winner by judge’s vote. A data analytics firm, Superfluid delivers proprietary platforms for digital lending, credit scoring module development, business intelligence and consumer scoring platforms powered by data analytics and AI.
The company, which raised funding from GreenTec Capital last year, will now enter into discussions over testing the efficiency and viability of its solution in the relevant environment within the ENGIE Africa business framework over a period of six months.
Based on the results of the testing phase, the solution would be integrated within the ENGIE Africa business portfolio for further co-development. Prospective locations for the testing phase are South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Tanzania and Benin.
Should such a pilot not prove feasible, ENGIE will provide the company with US$5,000 in cash funding.
“The company has a good customer orientation. I think that the product and the team as well are quite agile, and may provide a solution that fits with our needs. We are eager to consider a partnership with them,” said Carole Henry, head of innovation and digital at ENGIE Africa.
The other four startups that took part in the challenge were CARMA, Emata, Pezesha, and Plendify.